This Labor Day weekend we decided to drive all the way from Mountain View, California to Anacortes, Washington. The inspiration? My grandparents live in Anacortes and enjoy a quiet seaside life where Grandpa can watch the boats from his living room window. Unfortunately they can’t travel much anymore, so we try to make it up at least once or twice a year. I just wish we could go more often. If you’ve been wondering where I got my cooking bug look no further than my Grandparents. When I was a kid, they got cooking magazines, watched cooking shows on Channel 9, and experimented with tofu before tofu was cool. After years of them cooking for/ providing for me, now that I can actually cook one of the joys of going to visit Grandma and Grandpa is cooking a nice meal for them. This time we went out to the local store and picked up some beautiful local Sockeye Salmon and fresh Dill gone wild. DH was in charge of making seared salmon and a dill sour cream sauce, while I made a roasted asparagus portobello salad, fresh rosemary polenta topped with roasted portobello mushroom onions, and my version of Rachel Ray’s Chili Garlic Roasted broccoli. My Mom was also able to make it up, so I made everything dairy optional- she’s dairy intolerant. It was easy to put all the cheese on the side so people could add their own. The meal was a big hit, and was declared “better than a restaurant.” I think they may possibly have been biased, but it was pretty yummy!

Both on the way there and back, we stopped at Portland for some delicious gluten free dining- more on this later!

Take asparagus, diced onions, a dash of olive oil and combinethoroughly in a baking pan. Try to make sure the asparagus is in asingle layer in the pan. Roast in the oven at 350 for ten minutes andremove from oven. Let cool. Separate asparagus from cooked, dicedonions and sautee the onions in a pan if not sufficiently caramelized.

Heat your olive oil in another pan (cast iron is best) and sautee yourmushrooms in a single layer until they are soft. Add salt and pepperto taste. You may need to do multiple batches. When they all seem tobe cooked then add white wine to deglaze pan and add flavor. Removefrom pan and leave on a plate to cool. Toast the pine nuts in a drypan. When ready to serve, combine mushrooms, roasted asparagus, andcaramelized onions. Either drizzle with vinaigrette or put vinaigretteon side for people to add their own. Place spoonfuls of the feta andblue cheese (separate) next to the dish so people can add their owncheese or leave it off.

Vinaigrette:Whisk together all ingredients except oil. Then slowly whisk invinegar to emulsify. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Notes

I just made this delicious recipe for my grandparents, along withfresh rosemary polenta and roasted portobello mushroom onions, searedfresh northwest salmon with dill sour cream sauce and my version ofRachel Ray’s Chili Garlic Roasted broccoli. Everything was really goodbut this new recipe for salad was excellent. I adapted it from a BobbyFlay recipe.

For some time now I have suspected that I was in a vegetarian sandwich rut. When I get busy, I make one of two things- either a GF vegetarian burger with GF bread or a bagel, ketchup, mayo and mustard with fresh basil and tomato slices, or a I make a hummus/avocado/basil/cheese sandwich. They are good, don’t get me wrong, but considering all the variety I usually enjoy in my gluten free feasts, it has occurred to me that my sandwiches/burgers are a little boring. This is why I recently picked up a copy of the cookbook Vegetarian Sandwiches: Fresh Fillings for Slices, Pockets, Wraps, and Rolls and started experimenting with some more interesting sandwiches. This week I made both a black bean veggie quesadilla and a grilled portobello and sun dried tomato feta sandwich inspired by my new book. Of the two, the Portobello sandwich was the real star, and scored big points with the DH, who had freshly returned from an extended camping trip with his dad. The ingredients are simple, but result in an uber flavorful vegetarian burger- and I’ve modified the recipe to be extra calorie conscious. Enjoy!

Take your spread ingredients and process them in a food processor. Use the strong blade in the main bowl of your food processor. The more power the better. If you used a raw garlic clove, consider microwaving the resulting spread right before using for 30 seconds to a minute to take the edge off. (optional)

Heat your grill. Clean your mushroom caps and prepare a vinaigrette by sprinkling a bit of pasta seasoning in a dish, then adding your olive oil and whisking in as much balsamic vinegar as you want. In an effort to reduce calories, I have been using more vinegar than oil lately, but it’s up to you. Drench or brush your mushroom caps and sliced red onion rounds with the vinaigrette and then grill them until the mushroom is tender and onion has caramelized slightly and both are well done. Don’t forget to turn them over.